History of the Turban

Sikhs
of all ages should be very proud of their rich heritage, and be proud
to wear the turban, bestowed upon us by our Gurus. Sikhs have been
wearing turbans since Sikhism was founded by the first Guru, Guru
Nanak, around the year 1500, bearing important religious significance.

The
English word ‘turban’ or ‘turband’ (also ‘tulband’, ‘turbante’,
‘tulipan’ in other European languages, ‘sarik’ in Turkish) can be
traced back to the old-Persian ‘sarband’. Punjabi calls turbans
‘pagree’ (possibly from the ancient Egyptian ‘pjr’) or ‘dastaar’.
Clearly, turbans have been worn for thousands of years. Interesting,
the Old Testament mentions that God commanded Moses “to wear turban as
the symbol of prophethood, holiness and divine power, a command which
was obeyed by the Jews and the Muslims for centuries, and ignored or
forgotten by the Christians” (Dr. T. Singh). In his book “The tuban and
the sword of the Siks”, Dr. T. Singh lists many references from the
Bible to the turban, for example: "Once they enter the gates of
the court, they are to wear linen vestments, they shall wear linen
turban, and linen drawers on their loins." (Ezekiel 44:18-19)